BRIEF: Balance of payments deficit increases by 53 percent

10:51 a.m. EST, June 21, 2012|The Lebanon Daily Star

BEIRUT — The balance of payments recorded a deficit of $916 million in the first four months of 2012 as Lebanon's hefty trade deficit continued to overshadow weakening capital inflows amid regional political turmoil. The deficit this year compared to a $597.8 million shortfall during the same period last year, according to data from the Central Bank with net foreign assets of commercial banks falling $1.83 billion from December 2011 and the Central Bank's NFA increasing by $912 million. Experts say that heightened geopolitical tensions continued to weigh down gains from tourism and foreign direct investment this year, with tourists arrivals sliding 8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.